This invention pertains generally to the communication of information between computers connected to a computer network. More particularly, this invention relates to systems and methods for sending, receiving, and responding to requests for information, including requests for web pages, between and among computers linked to a computer network, and further including methods of generating a modified version of a requested web page.
Millions of computers are permanently or temporarily connected together in a worldwide computer network, sometimes referred to as the “world wide web.” On this network, information is exchanged between and among computers when a network client computer, using a software application known as a web “browser”, sends a request for information stored on a network server computer. The server receives and processes the request and, conventionally, responds by sending one or more web “pages” containing the requested information to the client computer. The web pages and information are then displayed by the browser to the user of the client computer. This same method of information exchange can also occur on a private network (sometimes referred to as an “intranet”) that uses the same communications protocols as are conventionally employed on the World Wide Web.
Frequently, in responding to various types of information requests from selected network client computers, there is a need to supply a modified web page to the requester. The modifications may include commercial advertising messages, supplemental information related to the information that is requested, or even modifications to the appearance of the browser in which the web pages are being displayed. Typically, modifications to requested web pages are made by modifying the computer software source code instructions such as HyperText Markup Language (“HTML”) which are sent to the client computer by the server and then used by the client browser to generate and display the page.
One example of a conventional method of modifying a requested web page is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,974,453 issued to Simmons, in which supplemental information (or “bulletin” as described by Simmons) is attached to the requested information by a “Network Access System” before it is relayed to the “External Computer”. In this approach, the “bulletin” can be hyperlinked to the requested information, packaged to display sequentially with the requested information, or simply attached as a bitmap or text file. Any integration of information that occurs in the method and system taught by Simmons takes place in the server before it is sent to the client computer. Thus, Simmons uses a more conventional “per page” information handling technique which requires caching of an entire page in the server, attaching the bulletin to the cached page, and sending the modified page to the network client. The network client then uses the modified page as sent by the server.
Similarly, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,189,000 issued to Gwertzman, content sent to a client computer in response to a request is customized by an application running in the server before it is sent to the client computer.
What is needed in addition is a system that can modify web pages via inline insertion of format and request instructions into a stream of requested information in response to a first request from a client computer, which format and request instructions generate a request for supplemental information and cause the requested information and supplemental information to be displayed together in a single browser window or in separate browser windows, with all inspection, processing, and transmission of requested information handled on a per packet basis.